“Twilight?” I called out weakly, seeing the purple blur in my vision. I tried to roll my body towards her, only to be met by the resistance of the obsidian boulder tearing into my wings, and a wall of pain. Lifting my head, I squinted and the blur came into focus, forming the shape of Twilight’s body.

“Nathan!” she cried, galloping towards me, her hooves splashing some water onto my face. As she reached me, I felt my strength suddenly fail, and my head dropped into the small river again, sending yet another wave of cold through me. I shivered uncontrollably, and Twilight knelt in the water next to me, her eyes taking in the small avalanche that kept me pinned to the ground.

[Right now, I’d suggest listening to “Sora’s Sacrifice” ~ Kingdom Hearts]

I gave her a tired smile, and said, “This is one of my better hallucinations, isn’t it?”

Twilight looked at me with tears in her eyes, and she said, “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here! Just-”

“Wait, Twi,” I interrupted. “I know you’re just another figment of my imagination…but…please, just let me say something.”

“Nate…”

I once again struggled to lift my head off of the ground, and forced myself to meet her beautiful violet orbs. Putting as much strength as I could into my words, I said, “I was wrong.” At her look of surprise, I continued, not wanting to lose this precious chance I had to make peace with myself. “I never should have said that I didn’t love you. I never should have hurt you like that.”

Tears flowed out of her eyes, and she said, “Please, Nathan, you’re weak. Just wait a second, and I’ll-”

“I know I’m going to probably die here, and I’ll have to go to another world, and not see you again for who knows how long, but I wanted to let you know…” I swallowed, tears brimming in my own eyes. “That even though there are endless Twilight’s, some good and some bad, that you…you are my Twilight. You are the Twilight I want to see at the beginning of each new day, and the Twilight I want to see at the end of each night.”

My head fell to the ground again, and Twilight gasped in shock. “I’ll get you out of there! Please, just stay with me!” She shouted, the rocks around me starting to glow, as she struggled to lift them. She groaned in effort, pouring all that she could into her magic, but the rocks stayed where they were, their collective weight too much for her to handle.

“It’s okay!” Twilight said. “I’ll let the others know you’re here!” She closed her eyes, and sent out a series of bright purple flares into the sky, lighting up the small canyon-like area with a harsh light that could be seen for miles. “Now we just have to wait, and we can dig you out,” she said, lying in the water next to me.

I shook my head, and whispered, “I’m not sure I’ll last that long…” I felt my conscious start fading, and darkness crept into the edge of my vision. With one final effort, I looked at Twilight, and forced my lips to form the three words I should have said long ago…

“I love you…”

Twilight’s heart stopped when she heard him say those words. Her eyes widened, and she saw his eyes close, and his body seemed to loosen up, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

“No…please, don’t be dead, please don’t!” She felt a pressure build up in her chest, and she shook her head wildly. “No! Nathan!” Forcing her eyes shut, she tried lifting the rocks again, but to no avail.

She shook her head again, and poured more magic into the rocks. Memories started to race through her mind, as she struggled against the boulders.

Meeting him for the first time at Sweet Apple Acres…

Him holding off Nightmare Moon while she attempted to summon the sixth Element of Harmony…

The Running of The Leaves, where they both tied for fifth place…

The warmth of the sunset on Hearts and Hooves day…

Her eyes shot open suddenly, glowing a fierce, blazing white, and she felt the pressure in her chest increase suddenly, making her feel as if she would burst if she didn’t release it. Grasping the boulders with her magic, she flung them all aside as if they were nothing more than pebbles, freeing Nathan from his prison.

As soon as they were gone, her eyes returned to normal, and ignoring the weariness she felt, she tossed herself upon his unmoving body, and desperately pressed her ear against his chest, listening and straining her senses to hear…

Thump. Ba-thump.

It was faint, but it was still unmistakably there: The sound of his heartbeat. He wasn’t dead…

[Music Over.]

She smiled, tears still flowing out of her eyes, and she finally realized how cold he felt against her fur. Pushing him out of the stream for the first time in days, she moved his still body onto dryer land, and used her magic to grab some small chunks of wood that were untouched by water. Setting it all into a small pile next to Nathan, she lit it up into a small fire, illuminating the area with a warm, orange glow.

That taken care of, she set her saddlebags onto the ground, and started pulling out some of the items she had thought to bring with her. She tossed a small blanket over Nathan, and pushed him closer to the fire. After that, she filled a small canteen with water, knowing that due to the position he had been trapped in, he hadn’t been able to drink in what must have been days.

As soon as she was done setting up camp, she lay down next to him, and smiled gently. Her heart swelled, as she recalled the words that he had spoken to her. Tipping his head up slightly, she brought the canteen to his lips, and poured water into his mouth. She blushed slightly, glad that he wasn’t awake to see this.

As soon as the canteen was empty, she set her head down on the ground, and thought that she would rest her eyelids for a moment.

When I finally opened my eyes, I thought that I would be on another world, back in my human form.

Instead, I found myself lying in front of a small fire, finally feeling dry after five days of lying in the river. I still felt weaker than a child, but it was such a relief to finally start to feel somewhat warm again.

As I came fully into consciousness, I started to shiver slightly, and I looked around. The last thing I remembered…

“You’re awake,” Twilight said from my side. I looked over, and was relieved to see that she was close enough that I could see her without my glasses. She tried to smile, but her lips couldn’t seem to form the right shape.

“So what happened before…that wasn’t an illusion?” Please, don’t let it be just a dream…

“…Did you really mean it when you said that you loved me?” Twilight asked in a small voice, her eyes gazing into mine.

“I do,” I stated. “Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s faithful student, and bearer of the Element of Magic…I love you.”

She smiled this time, causing my heart to skip a few beats. Her eyes glowing in the firelight, she said, “I love you too.”

We both stared at each other’s eyes for a moment longer, before I felt a sudden impulse…Deciding to trust my heart on this one, I leaned forward, and pressed my lips against hers.

A look of surprise flashed across her face, before she closed her eyes, and returned the kiss, softly pushing against me. For a few minutes, we sat there, kissing each other, until I started to shiver violently.

“Nathan? Are you okay?” she asked, concerned.

I nodded, and managed to stutter out, “J-j-just c-cold.”

She nodded, and moved closer to my side, pressing her body against mine. Using her magic, she lifted up a small blanket I hadn’t noticed before, and she threw it over the two of us, snuggling closer to me as she did so. “There,” she said as she finally finished. “Better?”

“Better,” I replied, lifting a tattered wing up, and using it to pull her even closer to me. Together, we both sat with each other, staring into the fire that Twilight had created, and after a few minutes, I asked, “Twilight?”

“Yes?”

“When did you start falling for me?” This probably isn’t something you ask someone (or somepony) when you just confess your love, but…it’s something I had to know.

Twilight thought about it for a moment, before she smiled, and said, “I’m not sure. I think around the time that you offered to help me try and study a way to banish Nightmare Moon.”

“Really?” I asked, surprised.

“Yeah. You were the only one who took me seriously at first, and then after that, when you tried to stop her from escaping…” She closed her eyes, and buried her head underneath my chin. “You risked your life for us. You hardly knew us, yet you still did that. And then after, you kept throwing yourself into danger, time and time again, just to keep everypony safe. You never asked for anything in return, except for us to be happy...I guess that's when it started sinking in...”

“Wow…I guess it took us long enough to get to this point,” I chuckled, nuzzling her in return.

“Mhm,” she answered, happy to just be with me. “Now…when did you fall in love with me?”

I scratched my beard with a free hoof, and considered the answer. “I guess…since I first met you. I was just in denial because of…well, yeah.”

“...Can I ask you something?”

“You just did,” I joked.

She shook her head, before saying, “What happens now?”

How do you respond to that? How do you say to the one you love that you have no idea of what will come? It’s simple, actually.

You tell the truth.

“I don’t know,” I said. I stared into the fire, and added, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay here with you, or if I’ll have to leave the next day. And if I do leave, I don’t know if I’ll be back in a few days, or in a few months.”

Twilight nodded, already having guessed as much. Still, she smiled, and said, “I guess it doesn’t matter now. We’re still together, aren’t we?”

“Yeah…we are.” I yawned, and felt my eyelids grow heavy.

“Nathan, go to sleep. You need to rest, after all. I’ll wake you up when the others get here,” Twilight said, softly brushing through my mane with her hoof.

“I don’t want to…I don’t want to miss a moment of this,” I wearily replied.

“Nate,” she sighed. “I’ll be right here. Don’t worry. I’m not leaving you.”

I grinned tiredly, and she kissed my cheek. “I think I could get used to this,” I muttered.

She rolled her eyes, and told me to go to sleep.

Well, I can’t exactly say no to her, now can I?

Preview of Chapter 8:

Together

“Luna…I have a proposition.”

“What is thine idea?”

“I believe it is time we gave Omnius…a reward.”

*^*^*^*

“So, think Dash will be happy to see that we’re-”

SMACK!

“OW!”

Next Chapter: 8) Together Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 2 Minutes